The Lion and the Lamb
by 3D
Summary: In honor of Valentine's Day, I have decided to post my first JouxYugi fanfic. Yesh, it's Shounen ai. Boy x boy love. Only 3 chapters, and it's completed!
1. Chapter 1

"Yugi? Yugi, what happened?" an echo went on forever. There was nothing around, just vast darkness, but a small glimmer of light pierced through the black vortex. The speckle floated farther and farther into the nothingness.

"Yugi? Yugi, are you okay?" the voice came again, as the echo hovered in the silence. The small light turned into a massive ray, about three times its original size. The heavenly ray glowed as it scanned its surrounding area, as if it were looking for something it had lost.

"Where are you, Yugi?" The voice called once again, but with more projection than the other calls. Still, the ray searched on, when it came to a sudden stop. It's bright, radiant glow focused above a face of a young teen boy, his expression was nothing. His eyes were cemented shut and his mouth showed neither happiness nor sad.

"Ah! There you are!" The voice sounded relived, it had found its lost possession. Then the ray grew bigger until it made the boy's whole body become light with its brightness. As the light from the heavens glared down at the small teen, his face suddenly started to change. Wrinkles appear around his firm eyebrows and tiny forehead.

"Is the light too much for you, little one?" The voice was as soft as a whisper as it spoke. "I'm sorry, but I can not send this blessing bright away. I may not find you again." The voice was sweet and hinted it deeply cared.

To this, the boy opened his chocolate brown eyes, though his expression didn't change. His eyes had no sign of life or mental awareness, like an empty body. His eyes just focused on the ray that engulfed his body, he started to open his mouth, from a line to an expression of agony and distress, though no sound escaped the tiny hole in his face.

"I know, I know," the voice sounded as if it could feel the boy's anguish, "but you are too special to hover here in this place of nothingness. You can break these chains of darkness, if you desire it. Just think of your own world, of your loved one, the one closest to you and your heart, Yugi." The creamy voice softens a bit, back down to a whisper. The teen responded to this with streams of warm tears, still his eyes hinted no existence of life.

"It's still painful, I see." The voice sighed, as if it were a disappointed parent. "I think I know why," The voiced paused. "Here, take this. It may help you coop with your memory." The beam sent down from the blackness, a small stuffed lion. It hovered above the lifeless teen's body, and then carefully landed on his chest. The teen showed no reply, the only motion came from his, still, running tears. Then, his tiny fingers twitched at his side, his arms moved up toward the toy. He gently grabbed onto the stuffed animal, as if it were a delicate glass rose. Its fur was a soft as velvet and its main was as warm as cotton. He ran his fingers carefully down its main. Rivers of tears still flowed through his chocolate eyes, they seemed like they would never stop.

"I know that he hurt you, and it's hard to think of him, but you have to. You can still admire him, even from afar." The voice tried to calm Yugi down, but it was no use. In that instant, the boy let out a huge, loud holler of pain, his heart couldn't take it anymore. The light winced at the dreadful cry, and then he suddenly stopped, and brought the lion up to his face and gently pressed his smooth lips onto its velvet fur.

"I see," the voice paused, "so you still love him."

To this, the teen responded with a nod, still kissing the stuffed animal. He began to replay the day in his mind…


	2. Chapter 2

It was February, the month of love. Every girl in their right mind was ready for the heart feast. Chocolates and stuffed animals soared up in prices at local shops, Valentine's Day was just around the corner, tomorrow to be exact and Yugi was thinking about his special someone.

It had been a long, long, LONG day at Dominion High School and the teacher's only love was to give out mountains of boring homework. Yugi didn't seem to mind; he skipped with his twenty pound backpack all the way back home to his grandpa's game shop. His heart leaped knowing that tomorrow he would finally confess his everlasting loyalty and love to his best friend, Jou.

He was really nervous, what it Jou didn't return his feelings? There was no time to think of that horrible reality, he had to wrap his love gift that he would present to Jou. He wrapped it gently in a dark, maroon bag with thin, pink paper sheets covering the opening at the top. In honor of Valentine's Day, he added one, giant, white heart onto the bag with some glue. The white heart made the bag look original and not so plain.

With his pride sealed in that little bag, he went to start his homework and slip into his pjs.

The next morning, he awoke to bright sunlight hitting his smooth, sleepy face. Then, his alarm clock went off, Yugi jumped out of his covers and gladly stripped off his pjs and hopped into the shower, all the while, thinking of what he would say to his beloved.

When he got out of the warm shower, he quickly dried himself off and jumped into his everyday, blue, school uniform. With a fast jell job to his almost-dry hair, he grabbed his backpack and placed his gift inside of it. With one last glance in the mirror, he paced off out of the game shop door.

He started to walk to the high school, all the while, listening to a few high school girls talk about what they got their sweethearts and how they were going to get their gifts to them.

"I'm going to place my cute, love letter into his locker." A high pitched voiced squealed in excitement.

"You're so old fashion, Kal. I'm going to give mine to him face to face. In front of his friends." Another girl said a hint of cockiness in her voice.

"Wow! You're so brave, Misoai!" Another girl gushed. They all giggled as they walked with their hopes high on that special someone.

All those ideas sounded good to the love-sick Yugi, but it would be too embarrassing to give his heart away in front of everyone. He decided it would be best to ask Jou to come to a private location.

Yugi got to school and slipped into his class shoes, listening to a few guys brag to each other about how many chocolates they had gotten this morning.

He headed to class, where he was welcomed by Anzu, Honda, and Jou.

"Hello Yugi!" Anzu said.

"Hi, Yugi!" Honda chipped in.

"Yo, Yug!" Jou's voice struck a cord in Yugi's heart.

"Hey, everyone." The spiky haired greeted his friends. Yugi walked up to Jou signaled for him to come with him to the corner of the room, which was vacant. Jou followed his friend into the corner and bent down to hear Yugi whisper.

"Um, Jou?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you a huge favor?"

"Let me guess, you want me to deliver your chocolates to Anzu, right? I had a feeling that's why you brought me over here. What can I say? I was just born to play Cupid!" Jou went on, proudly.

"Ugh…yeah, sure." Yugi sighed in disappointment, "But can I ask you to give her my gift after school? Meet me at the big oak tree near the back of the school at 3pm. I'll give you the gift there."

"Okay. Do you want 'Cupid' to tell her it's from a secret admirer or from you?" Jou winked and flashed a smile at Yugi, who flushed with red at Jou's expression. He loved when Jou made that face at him, it made him grin and his heart leap inside.

"Go ahead and tell her they're from me." Yugi said, confidently.

"Oh? Being brave this year, eh?" Jou nudged Yugi's shoulder as his smile grew bigger.

"You have no idea." Yugi sighed under his breath as they both headed off towards their cold, wooden desks and then class began.

Yugi couldn't concentrate the whole day. He would take a few notes off the board but his thoughts would jump right back to Jou. How would he respond to Yugi's confession? He thought about Jou's reaction and his expression when he opened Yugi's gift. Yugi daydreamed all school day long, until the bell finally rang.

On the way to his locker, the young teen shook with nervousness. He took the gift out of his backpack, after he put on his outside shoes. His nervousness was starting to get the better of his feelings and he began to make up excuses in his mind, just in case he skipped out on meeting Jou. He paced outside the Dominion High School front doors and began to walk to the back of the school, with his gift safely gripped in his sweaty palms.

He walked around the corner to see the large tree waiting for him. It was a marvelous tree, probably the biggest in the area. Jou hadn't arrived yet, so he walked up to the tree and leaned against its rough bark, which scratched his back. He began to close his eyes, thinking of the lines he was going say, with his gift tightly in his grasp.

A few minutes later, Yugi opened his brown eyes to see Jou walking towards him.

"Yugi! What's up, man?" Jou greeted causally with a wave as he walked closer to the tree and Yugi.

"Nothing much." Yugi tried to sound calm, but inside he was franticly searching for the lines he had prepared to greet Jou with.

"Is that her gift?" Jou pointed to the deep red bag clutched in Yugi's right hand. Yugi's heart began to race with adrenalin at the sound of Jou's question. He had to be strong this year, this was going to be the year he would tell Jou how he truly felt. He would not lose another gift to Anzu, which was meant for Jou.

"Actually," Yugi whispered, "It's for you." He handed the bag to Jou, hoping that the sweat from his dripping palms hadn't stained the bag at all.

"Aw! Yug! You shouldn't have!" Jou gushed as he began to carefully pull off the pink, see-through paper at the opening of the bag. Yugi waited with anticipation to see how Jou would react. Jou finally got to the bottom of the bag and slowly pulled out a small stuffed lion. It was light brown, with super soft, velvet fur. Jou, surprised by the gift, was speechless. He had expected chocolates or something edible. He looked up at Yugi and smiled.

"Thanks, Yugi. It's really cute." Jou ran his hand through the lion's main and gave a gigantic smile towards his friend. Yugi blushed with red once again and decided it was time. It was now or never. He had to serve his heart on a sliver platter to Jou.

"Jou, the truth is, I think of you as more than just a friend." Yugi cleared his throat. Jou looked from his present up at Yugi, with a serious, suspicious expression upon his face.

"Jou…I love you." Yugi whispered as he bent his head to the ground. He had done it. He had reviled his deepest secret to his sweetheart. Yugi wanted to say why he loved him, but his throat swelled up and Yugi couldn't manage to get a sound to come from it. He looked up at Jou, who was wide-eyed with shock.

"Yugi, I…I don't know what to say…I'm sorry…" Jou softly replied as his voice trailed off. A knife just pierced through the spiky haired teen's heart. He had forever spoiled a wonderful friendship with his best friend. Even if they could still be friends, there would be a strange acowardness between them. He had been rejected. His worst fear had come to haunt him. His love has shot him down and there was nothing Yugi could say or do about it.

The short teen began to feel light headed and started to tear up. He began to rock back and forth on his feet and then everything went black.


	3. Chapter 3

In the Darkness

"I know you're thinking about earlier today, young one." The voice stated. The teen just grasped the lion and stared into the ray of light hovering above his lifeless body.

"If you ever want to see him again, you'll have to think about how important he is to you. What makes him so special. Why you want him to return your love. Why you want to return to your own world." The voice told Yugi. It truly wanted the boy to find happiness.

Yugi kissed the stuffed lion's forehead and closed his vacant eyes. He began to think. He thought about Anzu, Honda, Grandpa and all his other friends, but he mostly thought about Jou. About his dazzling smile, about the way his hair gracefully flew in the wind. He thought about the day he first met Jou, and how they had become friends. About all the times in the summer when he and Jou would hang out at the burger joint, and the day Yugi realized that he had fallen in love with him. He wished he could go back, to see Jou's shining face, and be greeted by his warm smile.

Even though the ray of light around his body was strong, he began to glow. The glow started at the teen's head and grew down to his feet.

"Good luck, Yugi." The voice said as the boy's body disappeared into strong glow. The voice rang in his head, along with its final words.

Yugi woke up to find himself lying on the ground. He was still at the oak tree near the school. It had started to grow dim out and the sky was losing it's light. It must have been around 6 or 7 o' clock. He began to sit up when he noticed his head was on something that didn't feel like grass.

He looked up to see Jou, looking down at him. His eyes seemed to tell Yugi that he was concerned for his friend's wellbeing. Yugi had his head on Jou's lap.

"Yugi?" Jou whispered, "Are you okay?"

"…yeah." Yugi sighed neverously, he had not forgotten Jou's response to his confession. The response that devastated his heart, but for some reason, didn't feel embarrassed.

Yugi began to sit up once again, but Jou's hand met Yugi's forehead gently and pushed his head back onto his lap.

"Jou?" Yugi asked wearily.

"You didn't let me finish before." Jou whispered as he placed his head close to Yugi's ear, "As I was saying…I'm sorry...I'm sorry I didn't get you a Valentine's Day gift."

Yugi lay paralyzed in his best friend's lap as he tried to comprehend what he had just heard.

"It's alright. So, you don't hate me…for loving you?" Yugi asked unsure of Jou's intention.

"Hate you?" Jou whispered into Yugi's ear with surprise. "Yugi…I'm far from hating you. It's completely opposite. Yugi…I love you too. I've loved you for sometime now, but I wasn't sure how to tell you. I wasn't sure how you would react. I didn't want you to reject me." Jou sighed with satisfaction, into his friend's ear.

Yugi was about to speak, but Jou leaned in further and met Yugi's lips with his own. His kiss was soft and gently, it made Yugi's heart beat with excitement. He wanted the moment to last forever, it felt like an eternity until, finally, Jou pulled back and placed his mouth against Yugi's ear, once again.

"Happy Valentine's Day, my little lamb." Jou whispered.


End file.
